Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3116: Reality, Existence and Change

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The philosophers listed are indicative. The texts chosen may deviate from those mentioned below.

The problem of change in ancient Greek philosophy – Zeno, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Democritus, Plato

Aristotle on substance – Aristotle

Cartesian dualism and responses – Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz

Idealism – Berkeley, Kant, Hegel

Materialism – Democritus, Hobbes, Marx

Neutral Monism – Spinoza, Mach

Process and the critique of substance – Whitehead

Physicalism and the place of philosophy – Sandra Mitchell, Quine, Carnapp

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching activities	11	11 one hour lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activities	11	11 one hour tutorials
Guided independent study	33	Assigned reading associated with lecture and tutorials
Guided independent study	10	Preparation for in-class discussion
Guided independent study	35	Preparation for assigned essay
Guided independent study	50	Exam Revision and private study

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Web based and electronic resources:

Selections from…

Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Ross translation available at http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.html)

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Lloyd, G.E.R. (1970) Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle. Norton (New York, London)

Collingwood, R.G. (1945) The Idea of Nature OUP (Oxford)

Woolhouse, R.S. (1993), Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz: The Concept of Substance in Seventeenth Century Metaphysics. Routledge (London, New York)

Rescher, N. (2000), Process Philosophy: A survey of Basic Issues. University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh)

Selections from…

Spinoza’ Ethics (1996) Penguin Classics translated by Edwin Curley

Leibniz (1992) Discourse on Metaphysics and Other Essays: Translated and Edited by Garber, D. and Ariew, R. Hackett (Indianapolis)

Whitehead, A.N. (1946) Science and the Modern World, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge)